HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-21-2025 Town Board Meeting Minutes1 | P a g e
Town of Danby
Town Board Meeting Minutes
Held Monday, July 21, 2025
Board Members Present: Joel Gagnon, Town Supervisor
Leslie Connors
Katharine Hunter
Tyler Stein
Patricia Woodworth
Town Staff: Mariah Dillon, Town Clerk
Greg Hutnik, Town Planner
John Czamanske, Interim Planner
Laura Shawley, Bookkeeper
Other Attendees: Nathaniel Greenspun Susan Perri
Nadia Grigg Hunter Grigg
Nora Greenspun Mark Pruce
Ted Crane Ronda Roaring
Gary Huddle Captain Tilton, USNR
Call to Order 6:02
Additions/Deletions to the Agenda
Resolution Supporting Deconstruction in Danby ~Moved to Business
Consideration of Enforcement Actions – Review of Properties Under Consideration ~Moved
to Business
Privilege of the Floor
Susan Perri of W King Rd read a statement regarding South Hill Cider:
This is about South Hill Cider, and their live music events. Their project permitting inquiry on June 7 th,
2015, and original Site Plan on May 3 rd, 2019, don't reference live music and outdoor concert area or stage,
but they do agree to a special permit for any planned weddings or other meetings. The Town Code
Enforcement Olfice response on June 18th , 2015 , and Town Planner Site approval, February 7th , 2019 , both
require town approval for special events and compliance with the town's 2014 conservation easement.
The size of the structures and volume of visitors ify in the face of the easements s tated conservation values.
The easement prohibits motor vehicles except for access and emergencies, and installation of any
motorways requires town permission. It also requires best management practices to prevent soil erosion,
habitat destruction, and noise. But there are 2 installed parking lots, one of which charges a fee for use in a
ffeld adjacent to a nature preserve.
The Cidery's Instagram documents its aspirations to be a major festival venue, posting as recently as July
17th about its reliance on the “Festival Community”. Its music events often feature headliner acts with all
of the attendant problems of crowd control and public intoxication.
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From January 2023 to June 2025 there have been 50 Tompkins County sheriff dispatches for site related
disturbances , including:
• 20 Tralfic related offenses
• 4 Suspicious activities, or people
• 3 Parking enforcements
• 2 Calls for citizen assistance
• 2 Vehicle accidents
• 1 Arrest
The owners have also requested 14 nighttime property checks since October 2024 .
Ag. a nd Markets guidelines allow local governments to prioritize public safety over farm operations in
designated Ag. districts . Regulating the size, frequency, and ampliffcation of music events will address
current concerns, without which conditions will worsen. A former Cidery employee conffrmed that the
owners wire more amps than necessary, encourage bands to stay and play later than scheduled, and are
booking progressively larger acts. I urge the town to enforce compliance with the original site plan, the
conservation easement terms, and all applicable local zoning and State laws.
Hunter Grigg of West King Road submitted a petition to the Danby Town Board to Enforce Sound AG
Practices at South Hill Cider with 29 signatures.
Danby residents are concerned with the disruption to property, public safety, and quality of life due to
South hill Cider’s large scale, frequent and unpermitted live music events . Per section 308 B. of the right to
farm law, live music is not a sound agricultural practice. Operating as a live music venue exceeds the
permissible scope of the New York Ag. a nd Markets law. It endangers public safety as patrons routinely
ignore No Parking signage established by the towns of Ithaca and Danby , leading to extensive on -street
parking on both sides of Sandbank Road.
It also does not comply with the original site plan approved by the town of Danby, dated February 7th ,
2019, which requires permission for special events at the farm approved by the town of Danby planning
board without reasonable limits to guide legitimate farming and marketing operations. The current
situation is misaligned with local objectives for responsibl e development, rural character and public health
and safety. The right to farm should not come at the expense of non -farming residents rights to enjoy their
properties and equal protection. Under the law there are many available alternatives that may be equal or
superior in effectively supporting Cidery operations and growth.
The undersigned demand that the Danby town board exercises responsibility and right to act now to
enforce all available remedies, to ensure compliance with the original Site Plan and all applicable laws.
Nathanial Greenspun of 520 W King Rd made a statement regarding South Hill Cider:
I've been a residential builder for about 25 years , day job, and by night musician. So, I wanted to speak to
that a little bit, because I have a lot of friends coming to me to talk about “How do you feel about South
Hill Cider?” So, I want to be clear in that. My intention is not to shut Steve down. It's not. We know each
other. The intention here is to mitigate this - mainly the sound disturbance. If we started at the bullseye ,
that's the biggest target, and then everything trickles out from there. So , we were all under the impression
that there was going to be a small tasting room. Possible, occasional music. They were going to grow their
own apples, press them, and sell cider - sounded cute. It sounded quaint. The reason why I gave you a
little background about being a musician is that I've met a lot of venue owners over the years gigging , and
I now have good friends who own venues that are the sole purpose is for music. So, Steve and his family
have now pivoted entirely to become a music venue, and they intend to grow. And I can tell you that the
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way these venue owners sell their alcohol - is to provide good music. If they can't really sell - sales go way
up every time they have a decent band. They're going to sell a lot of alcohol. So as a business owner, I
understand the complexities and the dilficulties to maintain that bottom line. And if you don't have to, not
invest in . For example, n ot making any concessions at all to invest in mitigating the sound . So essentially,
they're looking the other way. Saying, “Well, we need to survive, so let's have music 4 to 5 nights a week.”
As Steve's neighbors , we've talked to him over the years . For the last 2 - 3 years, I would say, trying to have
diplomatic - sort of more civil conversations - about how we can deal with this . We've mentioned things
such as a bit of a privacy fence, a green fence, and a wooden fence. I don't care what it is. We are all
looking at the receiving end of his operation, which is generally a mess. And you know we've asked that
possibly he could pivot the stage so that sound projects toward the gorge instead of all of his neighbors . To
this day he hasn't made one concession or followed through in mitigating any of our concerns.
Nadia Grigg of West King Road made a statement regarding South Hill Cider:
I’d like to reiterate what Nathaniel said about no one wants to shut down Steve's operation. In fact, my
husband and I have been big supporters of the Ci dery since its inception . S ince it opened, through its early
growth , and during the challenges of the pandemic. Even Hunter has stepped in to do excavation work in
the orchard and other odd jobs to help out - oftentimes pro bono. We've brought family and friends to the
Ci dery, and we do value the owners as next-door neighbors. But that said, it has become increasingly clear
that the cidery’s operation is shifting towards functioning as an unregulated outdoor concert venue, and
that's really the concern there.
We're concerned that without intervention these events will only continue to grow in size, and without
these restrictions the outdoor ampliffed music will just get louder and bigger and have more attendees,
and all those ripple effect ramiffcations of doubl e parking on Sandbank Rd, or, overcrowded attendance.
We're just looking to maintain the compatibility of this harmony that we have between an Ag. business in
our backyards and residential life, which is why we live in Danby ultimately. And so, after reviewing the
cidery's ’ approved Site Plan and Zoning Code letter, we found no mention of ampliffed live music or the
existing permanent stage structure being permitted uses. In fact, the code letter does specify that if owners
wish to host weddings, parties, and other special events a t this location they are required to seek approval
from the Danby Planning board. To our knowledge, this process has not been put into place. We do
believe this scale of live outdoor music would fall under special events, and so moving forward I do ffnd it
essential that this required review and approval process b e followed to ensure transparency,
accountability and appropriate land use. Again, to be clear, n o one is trying to shut down music
completely. For instance, acoustic, unplugged, or indoor performances might be more reasonable and in
line with what one might expect from an Ag. business, especially one that is in such close proximity to
homes. I think that's really important to note, right? It's not like there's like a huge swath of land between
us - like it's right there, and it does echo through the open ffeld, which acts as a n amphitheater. So, hosting
these headliner bands with unrestricted ampliffcation that attracts hundreds of people in my mind crosses
a line that warrants local oversight. We are urging the Town Planning Board to step in now to uphold the
original zoning agreement around special events and establish reasonable guardrails around event, scale
frequency and ampliffcation through an approval process to maintain balance between Ag business
operations and residential quality of life.
Supervisor Gagnon responded to the residents complaining about South Hill Cider: “Upon advice of the
[Town] attorney, it was decided that it was not a good pathway to us e a special permit approach. But the
idea of having a Special Event Law is being considered. When we talked about a special event law last
year, we were seeing it as applying only to big festival like events, and not to a series of events, which is
what we're seeing now at South Hill Cider. But what we were told by our attorney is that it could be made
to apply in such instances -.where someone could get an annual permit to have regular events, and then
the parameters for having them would be addressed as they are in the draft Special Event Law.” Gagnon
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mentioned that Hutnik had sent Ag and Markets a draft of the Special Event Law. Hutnik reiterated that
he sent a Draft of the Special Event Law to Ag and Markets and had yet to hear back from them.
Discussion ensued. Holding a special meeting about the cidery was proposed.
Hunter brought up the request to bring the Planning Board in , to provide more awareness and
understanding. It was decided that South Hill Cider will be on the agenda for the next meeting.
Ronda Roaring Thanked the board members for their work on the Supervisors Audit.
She also suggested that there was a conifict in the agenda with demolish ing 1840 Danby Road and the
proposal to create a draft policy on deconstruction . “If we approve the deconstruction policy, we wouldn't
be able to demolish 1840 Danby Road, and it probably has all kinds of negative things that we don't want
people living around, including lead in paint and things like that And I have already stated that I was
interested in having the structure demolished. I am not in favor of this deconstruction policy, because I do
feel that there are many instances where it can be to the benefft of the property owner to remove
something quickly and neatly - perhaps because the structure simply does not fft their needs anymore. It
also could be that we have problems with ffnding things in a house that were
unexpected. I've already talked to Joel about that. It's 1 of my big concerns, and so when you have an older
house you have a tendency for that to happen . That oh, there's a beam that is rotten, and you didn't know
it, and therefore it's going to cost you all kinds of money. And so , in deconstruction there's a
potentiality for all kinds of expense that you wouldn't get if you simply removed the house and
put in something new. Salvaging old ffxtures like Reuse does, and I think the place is called essentials, or
something like that. If we could do that, that would also be helpful. But we don't have much of that
around here, whereas those do tend to be some interesting businesses, and we ought to talk about that at
the county level.”
Ted Crane Compliments the town on the idea of supporting deconstruction . “I don't think you have a
policy there. You're just supporting the idea ... The practical question is that: in order to deconstruct.
depending on the level of deconstruction you're doing, you have to 1st prove that there's nothing
dangerous in the house. That requires an inspection , which can be expensive. And potentially, for
example, asbestos can be very expensive to remediate. Now, that's not something you have control over.
So my question is : Can you take any steps in order to remediate the necessity for remediation , if you will?
Otherwise, your policy is well intended, makes you feel good, but doesn't really help .
A second item: I've listened to the West King Road residents’ concerns, and I feel for them. I don’t live
there but I feel very strongly that the idea that a noise law - that one person's noise, one person's loud
music might be another person's noise, and the town has to act as a referee here . And I think the town
really has to deal with this problem. Now, in this particular case, basically, the town helped set up that
cidery.
And, based on my experience, having worked with ffnger lakes wineries and cideries, and I got to say,
Steve's a friend. I love his music and all the rest of it, but it was clear from the beginning that Steve's
business model, as many other wineries also have, involves basically getting people on site through the
use of music and performances in order to make money. Hey - that's exactly what Danby Food and Drink
is doing too. And I would say, I don't think I'm going out on a limb here , that it was entirely predic table
that the situation that's now of concern was entirely predictable - that from day one that's what farm
wineries do, they’re tourist attractions . And I think the town really has to examine this very carefully,
instead of having to react, as in this case afterwards , to provide some kind of regulation that is well
thought out where you thought about the issues at the edges, like what could go wrong with our proposed
legislation, and instead of having to ffx it and having, I think I've said this before, although you may not
remember it, instead of having a patchwork of errors around Danby because it wasn't thought out well in
the 1st place. It should be thought out well, in the 1st place. In this case both zoning, noise, special permits ,
event permits. I don't know how you could write an event permit which was going to last all year. I think
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you really should address this under noise. But in any case, I want Steve [Selin] to stay in business, and I
want the neighbors to have their concerns addressed.”
Garry Huddle : “I have a question on the deconstruction law . R eading it, it doesn't really explain what
you're trying to do. Why is the town getting involved in this in the 1st place? And if somebody wants to
tear down a shed or a barn or something, what are they supposed to do? You want them to stack up
things, or who's what? I just don't get it. Can somebody explain what the town is after on this.”
Gagnon responded: “In a nutshell, it means we're encouraging people to take things apart rather than
crunch them up and throw them away.“
Huddle: “Who's going to monitor this ? If somebody wants to tear down an old barn, they can't take the
stuff down, put it in a dump truck and take it down to the …”
Gagnon asked Huddle to ask these questions when the item comes up under Business.
Correspondence - None
Announcements - None
Reports and Presentations
County Legislature Rep Dan Klein Update on the turnover: “We have a new Commissioner of
Department of Social Services, her name is Brittany Earle, and today was her 1st day. The New
Finance Director, Dan Tuttle, started earlier this month. He was the deputy, so he's already
familiar with our operations. And then Jeff Smith, the county highway superintendent, this is his
last week. We're going to be posting the job this week. and we will have an interim. Nick Ensign.
He's been with the county highway department for quite a while. He will be the interim until we
hire a new one, which will hopefully be in 2 months. We've got a new collaboration about to
happen with the city of Ithaca to address some of the homeless issues and services that are
provided. By the end of this month, we will have a full press release about all the details. But
basically, we're going to be going in together on a building that's already existing in Ithaca, and
the city is going to be providing services during the day, and we're going to provide services at
night. That's the idea in a nutshell. But there'll be a whole public rollout of it late r this month.”
County Budget retreat will be held this coming Wednesday.
“The Federal Budget Bill was passed earlier this month , and we are still looking at it closely and
trying to ffgure out how it affects us. At this point it looks like most of the effects will be
happening in out years: 2027and 2028. But there is one thing we're looking at where there's a cost
share for SNAP beneffts - food stamps - and that might be taking effect earlier. If that happens,
we're calculating that the shortfall is about $670,000 a year. Now, the State also has a role in this
cost share, so there's a chance the State is going to change their formula , so the whole $670,000 a
year may not fall to the county. We just don't know yet, so it's not a lot of information yet, bu t it's
just the beginning of trying to digest all the things that were in that Federal bill.”
Highway Report – Laura Shawley will be submitting payments made for completed road
improvements to the state for reimbursement under the Consolidated Highway Improvement
Program ( CHIP).
Gagnon asked if the $3,800 charge for an excavator was a purchase or a rep air. Shawley
conffrmed it was a repair.
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Meeting Minutes
Resolution 185 of 2025 To Accept the July 7 , 2025, Town Board Meeting Minutes
Moved by Gagnon Seconded by Connors
Vote:
Connors Yes
Hunter Yes
Stein Abstain
Woodworth Yes
Gagnon Yes
Resolution 185 of 2025 passed on July 21, 2025
Warrant Abstract 14 of 2025
Resolution 186 of 2025 To Approve General Fund Vouchers 278 - 301 for $45,9 75.0 1
Moved by Connors Seconded by Gagnon
The Otter charge was discussed. The entire $777.60 charge will be refunded on next month’s bill.
Vote:
Connors Yes
Hunter Yes
Stein Yes
Woodworth Yes
Gagnon Yes
Resolution 186 of 2025 passed on July 21, 2025
Resolution 187 of 2025 To Approve the Highway Fund Vouchers 130 - 136 for $32,059.01
Moved by Connors Seconded by Woodworth
Vote:
Connors Yes
Hunter Yes
Stein Yes
Woodworth Yes
Gagnon Yes
Resolution 18 7 of 2025 passed on July 21, 2025
Business
Report of Audit Committee – Town Supervisor
Resolution 188 of 2025 To Accept the Supervisor Audit as Submitted
Moved by Connors Seconded by Stein
Vote:
Connors Yes
Hunter Yes
Stein Yes
Woodworth Yes
Gagnon Yes
Resolution 18 8 of 2025 passed on July 21, 2025
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Discussion ensued regarding having the ffnancial reports before the Warrant on the agenda ,
since the account analyses point to the need for transfers before decision-making on the bills in
the warrant. Woodworth will double-check if the ffnancial reports need to be acknowledged.
Set Public Hearing for Order to Demolish 1840 Danby Road
Gagnon provided an update on the status of 1840 Danby Rd. Asbestos disposal was discussed. It
was decided that the town would serve the owner a notice to remove ASAP and set up a public
hearing on the matter for the next meeting (August 4th).
Resolution 18 9 of 2025 To Schedule a Public Hearing on the Demolition Order of 18 40 Danby
Road for the Next Town Board Meeting, August 4 th, 2025.
Moved by Woodworth Seconded by Connors
Vote:
Connors Yes
Hunter Yes
Stein Yes
Woodworth Yes
Gagnon Yes
Resolution 18 9 of 2025 passed on July 21, 2025
Consider Accepting Donation of Conservation Easement – Gladstone
Resolution 1 90 of 2025 To Accept the Donation of Conservation Easement – Gladstone
Discussion about making the headings of Schedules match in formatting. Dillon will update
Schedule A, B, and C headings for consistency.
Moved by Woodworth Seconded by Gagnon
Vote:
Connors Yes
Hunter Yes
Stein Yes
Woodworth Yes
Gagnon Yes
Resolution 1 90 of 2025 passed on July 21, 2025
A signing ceremony was proposed to precede the August 4 board meeting if Andi Gladstone
were willing and could attend. That was agreed to if it proved to be possible.
Further Consideration of Safe Streets for All Joint Safety Action Plan
Safe Streets for All Joint Safety Action Plan report has been ffnalized.
Dillon will put the plan on the Town website. Further consideration of Safe Streets for All Joint
Safety Action Plan will be put on the second meeting in August agenda for approval and the
public invited to comment to the Board via an article in the town newsletter.
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Proposed Committee to Interact with HUNT Engineers on Hamlet Sewering
Gagnon proposed putting together a committee to review the Hunt Engineers preliminary
engineering report and to assist the Town in determining what would work best for the future of
Danby.
Pruce asked for a speciffc charge for the committee. Discussion ensued regarding several
different areas of scope for the committee. John Cza manske (Interim Planner) spoke about some
aspects of the report including costs and scope.
Resolution 1 91 of 2025 To Set up a Committee of Zach Larkins, Mark Pruce , Jacob Colbert,
Leonard Dodge , Greg Hutnik (and John Cz amanske) and Joel Gagnon to review the Hunt
Engineers report.
Moved by Woodworth Seconded by Connors
Vote:
Connors Yes
Hunter Yes
Stein Yes
Woodworth Yes
Gagnon Yes
Resolution 1 91 of 2025 passed on July 21, 2025
Resolution Supporting Deconstruction in Danby
Resolution 192 of 2025 Supporting the Deconstruction and Reuse of the Built Environment in
the Town of Danby
WHEREAS the Danby Town Board recognizes the beneffts of deconstruction, and is among a
handful of other municipalities nationwide supporting these measures, and
WHEREAS the Town Board recognizes the value of reuse and preservation of its cultural
heritage by prolonging the lifespan of current building stock, its architectural features, and
building material as much as possible, and
WHEREAS globally, buildings account for 39% of annual greenhouse gas emissions and more
than 50% of resource extraction, and
WHEREAS the Town Board supports a circular economy approach to construction and
deconstruction in the built environment, and
WHEREAS the Town Board supports the reduction of landffll waste through careful
deconstruction of buildings that have run their full course of use, and
WHEREAS the Town Board desires as much material as possible to be reused in the community,
and
WHEREAS the Town Board desires as much material as possible to be recycled that cannot be
easily reused, and
WHEREAS the Town Board recognizes that the process of deconstruction, and not mechanical
demolition, will reduce the release of hazardous toxins into the environment, and
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WHEREAS the Town Board desires to reduce the carbon emissions associated with the
extraction and transportation of raw materials that make up our built environment, and
WHEREAS the Town Board, in supporting initiatives to preserve, protect, deconstruct, and
reuse rather than demolish, desires to provide opportunities for deconstruction and reuse
businesses, and
WHEREAS the Town Board considers this resolution to be in alignment with the circular
economy objectives of Tompkins County Solid Waste Management Plan, now, therefore, be it
RESOLVED that the Danby Town Board hereby adopts a policy of supporting the
deconstruction and reuse of the built environment in the Town of Danby.
Moved by Woodworth Seconded by Gagnon
Vote:
Connors Yes
Hunter Yes
Stein Yes
Woodworth Yes
Gagnon Yes
Resolution 192 of 2025 passed on July 21, 2025
Consideration of Enforcement Actions – Review of Properties Under Consideration
The Code Enforcement olficer submitted a list of derelict properties and properties with excess
junk and rubbish.
Resolution 193 of 2025 To Extent the Meeting by 10 Minutes
Moved by Gagnon Seconded by Connors
Vote:
Connors Yes
Hunter Yes
Stein Yes
Woodworth Yes
Gagnon Yes
Resolution 19 3 of 2025 passed on July 21, 2025
Discussion of several houses on the list as well as of derelict houses that are not on the list -
particularly a red house on the southwest corner of Ridgecrest and Nelson. The Board is looking
to get locations on a map, pictures, and the ability to add houses to the list. The Board will send
any additional properties to Dillon.
Discussion of next meeting Agenda
Adjourn
- Mariah Dillon, Town Clerk